Wire cutter



April 29, 1952 v. A. JENSEN 2,595,145

WIRE CUTTER lf'iled NOV. 8, 1946 ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 29 1952 2,595,145 WIRE CUTTER Vernon A. Jensen, Chicago, 111., assignor to Wester'n Electric Company; Incorporated; New York,

N. Y., a'corporation of New York Application November 8, 1946, Serial No. 708,507 3 Claims. (01. 30182) This invention relates to wire cutters and more particularly to a long nose pliers type of 'wire cutters having cutting jaws extending transversely from the end thereof.

With some makes of wire cutting pliers of the long nose type, which have movable and stationary transversely extending cutting jaws in which the jaws are moved apart by a spring engaging the jaws and are moved into cutting en gagement with each other by an actuating member engaging the movable jaw, difficulties have been experienced in the wearing out of the movable jaw and the frequent loss of the springs for separating the jaws.

An object of the present invention is to provide is provided with a longitudinal slot therein and a transversely projecting cutting jaw at the end thereof, and a second cutting jaw movable into cutting relation with the first jaw is transversely formed on one end of a member disposed in the slot and connected to the slotted arm through pin and slot connections whereby the second jaw may be guided through a predetermined movement from an open to a closed position relative to the first jaw. The movable jaw member is pivotally connected at its other end to one end of a short nose or arm of the other lever of the wire cutters and the arms of the cutters have handle portions which are engaged by and urged apart by a spring to move the cutting jaws to open position.

A more complete understanding of the invention may be had by reference tothe following description and the accompanying drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment thereof in which Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of the wire cutters showing the cutting jaws in closed position;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of the forward end of the wire cutters;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of a portion of the wire cutters taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 and showing the cutting jaws in their open position; and

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the portion of the wire cutters shown in Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings, the wire cutters as illustrated in Fig. 1 is of the pliers type comprising a pair of levers H] and H pivotally connected together at l2 and having handle portions l4 and I5, respectively. The nose l6 of the lever I is I the lever l0.

slotted at ll to receive the reduced end |8 of an arm l9, which, together with the nose portion l6, forms a relatively long arm or nose on A cutting jaw 2|, formed on the end of the arm I9, projects transversely therefrom in a downward direction, as viewed in Figs. 1 and 3, and is formed with a vertical cutting edge 22. A longitudinal vertical slot 23 is formed in the arm l9 through the central plane thereof in spaced relation to the ends of the member. A pair of pins 24 and 25 passing through aligned apertures 25-26 and 2l2'| in the nose It and the arm portion I3, respectively, serve to secure the arm Hi to the lever Hi. If desired, the arm Sand the cutting jaw 2| thereon may be formed as an'integral part of the lever II].

A second cutting jaw' 3|], adapted to cooperate with the jaw 2| to sever strand material, is provided with a cutting edge 3| and is formed in a transversely projecting relation on one end of a fiat elongated member 33 slidably mounted in the longitudinal slot 23 of the arm IS). The member 33 has an upwardly extending end portion 34, which fits in a slot in one end of a short nose or arm 35 of the lever II and is pivotally connected to the arm 35 by a pin 36 passing through aligned apertures 3! and 38 in the arm 35 and jaw member 33, respectively. The jaw member 33 is slidably connected to the arm H) by pins 25 and 40 secured in the arm I9 and passing through slots 4| and 42, respectively, in the member 33. The slot 42 in the member 33 is disposed in a substantially horizontal position as viewed in Figs. 1 and 3 to permit a longitudinal movement of the jaw member 33 and the slot 4| is inclined to permit of a rocking and forward movement of the member 33 to be imparted to it by the arm 35 through the actuation of the lever If desired, the slant of the slot 4| may be varied to produce, in cooperation with the pin 25 passing therethrough, a cam action toimpart various amounts of longitudinal movement to the member 33 and the jaw 30 as well as to allow a rocking movement thereof.

A helical spring 45, fitting over pins 46 and 41 on the handles 4 and I5, urges the handles apart to move the levers I0 and H in one direction to open the jaws 22 and 30. One end of an adjustable stop 49, threadedly engaging the arm 35 of the lever H and held in adjusted position thereon by a lock nut 50, engages the upper surface of the arm l5 and serves to limit the movement of the arms l6 and 35 toward each other and thereby prevent excessive movement of the cutting jaw 30 relative to the cutting jaw 21.

In the operation of the wire cutters, which may be used for cutting a single one of a plurality of wires closely grouped together, as in wired telephone apparatus, the operator positions the cutters so that the cutting jaws 2| and 30, which are normally maintained in their open position by the action of the spring 45, are astraddle the wire to be severed and, upon application of force to the handles 14 and I5, the arm 35, as it is rocked about the pivot 12, will impart a forward and downward movement to the end 34 of the member 33 and a forward and rocking movement to the jaw member 33 while the cutting jaw 30 thereonwill be moved through a forward and upward rocking movement into cutting engagement with the jaw 21 to sever the wire positioned between the cutting jaws.

What is claimed is:

l. A pliers type wire cutter comprising a pair of levers pivoted one on the other intermediate their ends and having handle portions on one end of each of said levers, spring means for urging the ends of the levers apart, a trans versely extending cutting jaw formed on the end of one of said levers, a cutting element directly pivoted at one end to the end of said other lever for movement therewith and having a cutting jaw engageable in abutting relation with the cutting jaw on said one lever, and a pin and slot means interconnecting said cutting element and said one lever for guiding said cutting element toward and away from said cutting jaw on said one lever in response to movement of said levers relative to each other.

2. A pliers type wire cutter comprising a pair of levers pivotally connected together intermediate their ends and having handle portions on one end of each of said levers, spring means urging the ends of the levers apart, a transverse- 1y extending cutting jaw formed on the end of one of said levers, a movable cutting element having one end thereof directly pivoted to one end of said other lever for movement therewith and having a transversely extending jaw engageable in abutting relation with said jaw on said one lever, said cutting element having a longitudinally disposed slot adjacent the cutting jaw thereon, and a pin mounted on said one lever and extending through said slot in the cutting element and cooperating with said slot therein to guide the jaw and end portion thereof toward and away from the jaw on said one lever in response to the actuation of said levers.

3. A pliers type wire cutter comprising a pair of levers pivoted one on the other intermediate their ends and having handle portions on one end of each lever, the other end of one of said levers being longitudinally slotted and extending a substantial distance from the other end of said other lever to form an elongated nose and having a cutting jaw extending transversely from the tip of said nose, spring means urging the ends of the levers apart, an elongated cutting element disposed in said slot and having a laterally extending rear end portion directly pivoted to the other end of said other lever for movement therewith and having a cutting jaw extending transversely therefrom at the forward end of said cutting element and movable into abutting relation with the cutting jaw of said nose, and a pin and slot connection between the forward end of said cutting element and the nose of said one lever, said slot extending in a direction longitudinally of the nose for guiding said cutting element and the cutting jaw thereon toward and away from said cutting jaw on said nose in response to the actuation of said levers.

VERNON A. JENSEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain Aug. 22, 1903 

